French oyster producers help out their Tohoku colleagues
On 23 May, Robert Verdier, president of NGO PlaNet Finance, got a call from the French embassy, informing him that Fondation de France, a humanitarian aid fund, was looking for a way to help Tohoku oyster growers whose livelihoods had been swept away by the 11 March tsunami.
In the following months, Verdier learned far more about oysters than he’d ever thought would be possible. Back in 2009, Verdier, a management consultant by profession, had been recruited by well-known French economist Jacques Attali to be the volunteer head of NGO PlaNet Finance in Japan. The organisation, founded by Attali, gathers funds for microfinance projects in the developing world.
After 11 March, the focus of the organisation in Japan shifted suddenly and dramatically. “You have been raising money in Japan; that is good,” Attali told Verdier. “But now we need to help Japan.”
Their first initiative, in March and April, was to organise the dispatch of 15 tons of clothing from France to afflicted areas in northern Japan. Work also started on a microfinance project for small and medium-sized enterprises in Tohoku. “Basically it will be to help restart mom-and-pop enterprises,” Verdier explains. The NGO hopes that 40% of SMEs in four big Tohoku cities will benefit from the project. Details are due to be announced in November. Following the call from the French embassy, PlaNet Finance’s attention turned to oysters. Some 80% of Japan’s seed oysters usually come from Miyagi prefecture, but the disaster destroyed the vast majority of the oyster farms. On March 26th, the Save Sanriku Oysters project was launched by Hiroaki Saito, the owner of an oyster distribution company, iLINK Inc., based in Sendai. (Sanriku is a historical region referring to Aomori, Iwate and parts of Miyagi). The concept behind the project was ingenious and unusual.
In exchange for a ¥10,000 share that helps finance the reconstruction of Sanriku oyster farms, contributors receive an “Oyster Owner Certificate.” Several years on – the exact time will depend on how long recovery takes – they will be sent a box of 20 Sanriku oysters.
At the time of writing, almost 25,000 shares have already been sold. “It was a brilliant idea,” says Verdier of Saito’s brainchild. “I asked him if we could join forces because France wanted to help.” And so was born the “France o-kaeshi” project, as o-kaeshi means “returning a favour” in Japanese. Back in the 1970s, French oysters had been devastated by a virus, and were saved by seed oysters sent from the Sanriku region. Now it was time for France to help Japan.
With the assistance of the French embassy, PlaNet Finance applied for a €200,000 grant from the Fondation de France. But they soon realised that by the time they received any money it would be far too late to help farmers with the start of the July oyster-growing season.
So, to deliver the necessary supplies in time, PlaNet Finance turned to companies like French shellfish processing equipment manufacturer Mulot S.A.S. and logistics firm SDV. They also received money from the Rochefort chamber of commerce, in France’s main oyster-producing region.
In early July, just in time for the start of the season, seven tons of ropes and buoys were sent to Kesennuma and Ojika-hanto in Miyagi prefecture. “It was a race against the clock,” says Verdier. When the equipment arrived, he adds, “people were crying and saying ‘thank you, France’”.
Altogether PlaNet Finance hopes to contribute some ¥30 million to help Sanriku oyster farmers, and the Save Sanriku Oysters initiative itself has raised about ¥250 million. More than ¥700 million is needed to fully rebuild oyster farms in the region.
An equally ambitious aspect of the project is that it aims – as Verdier puts it – to “change the paradigm” of oyster farming in Japan. Prior to the disaster, most oysters farmed in Japan were sold as bagged oyster meat, available in Japanese supermarkets.
The proposal is for farmers to shift to producing in-shell oysters, which are much more profitable. A single raw oyster in a Tokyo oyster bar can cost over ¥300, more than an entire pack of ten or so shell-less oysters.
In early October, Saito’s company, iLINK Inc., and French manufacturer Mulot S.A.S. organised a 13-day study trip to France for two Sanriku producers, accompanied by Saito. They toured France’s well-known oyster regions to learn about the methods used there. The hope was that the producers would then be able to adapt the techniques they saw and produce oysters “à la Francaise” back home.
“If we succeed in changing the business model, it will be more profitable for the farmers and the oysters will be of better quality,” says Verdier.
It could take a minimum of three years for the Sanriku oyster-growing region to fully recover, says Verdier. Nevertheless, remarkably, this year the region managed 30% of a normal year’s catch of seed oysters just months after the near total destruction caused by the quake.
“It is incredible what they did,” he says. “I am very proud that we have helped [them], but these people are fantastic.”
Q&A with Hiroaki Saito of the Save Sanriku Oysters Project
Why are Sanriku oysters special?
Sanriku oysters can be divided into two categories: oysters from Miyagi, and oysters from Iwate. Miyagi prefecture produces 80% of the country’s seed oysters, while Iwate prefecture has areas that are famous for growing them into the highest quality product in Japan. Unless the seed oyster producing area in Miyagi recovers, the entire country’s oyster industry is at stake, including the high quality Iwate-grown oysters.
What is the condition of oyster farms now?
The tsunami swept away most oyster farmers’ facilities and equipment, and since many lost their homes, they were in a state of shock, unable to muster even the thought of rebuilding. But right now, the majority of oyster farmers have re-started their activities in some way.
How did you come up with the idea of an oyster “futures contract”?
Well, technically, it is an Oyster Owner Certificate rather than a contract, because it is a one-time purchase. Also, one individual can purchase many shares. Advance sales are not a new concept in Japan, especially in the fruit and rice industries, so applying it to selling oysters was not that great of a stretch.
The difference between regular advance sales and what iLINK Inc. is doing is that a just under half of each share is a donation – 40% of the proceeds goes directly towards the reconstruction activities of oyster producers.